The annual meeting will immediately follow the

10:30 AM Mass

We will enjoy a Soup Lunch courtesy of

the hard working volunteers of St. Mark’s

Please attend and bring this report with you….

This is your time to discern your church’s future!

Let’s look forward together!

Vestry Report January 20, 2019

150 St Marks Road, Tecumseh

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St. Mark's by the Lake Annual Vestry Meeting

Sunday January 20th, 2019

Agenda 1) Opening Prayer

2) Territorial Acknowledgement

We acknowledge that the land on which we gather and in which we serve is the traditional territory of the Caldwell First Nation, a member of the Nation of the Three Fires Confederacy of the Anishnabe people.

3) Community Reflection – How has God touched your life in the past year?

4) Election of Vestry Clerk

5) Minutes of 2018 Annual Vestry Meeting

6) Business Arising from the Minutes

7) Reception of Narrative Reports – comments, questions

8) Bishop’s Letter to Vestry

9) Rector’s Report – comments, questions

10) Treasurer’s Report

11) 2019 Budget Report

12) Nominating Committee Report

13) New Business

14) Closing Prayer / Adjournment

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Minutes of the 2018 Annual Vestry Meeting

January 28, 2018 1. The Meeting was called to order by the Rev’d Robert Lemon and prayer was offered. 2. Acknowledgement of Coldwell First Nations

3. Election of the Vestry Clerk – Christie Paulton was nominated.

Motion to close nominations made by Christian Paulton, seconded by Al DeShield. Carried, Trish Taylor moved that nominations be closed

4. Minutes of the 2017 Vestry Meeting Motion to accept the minutes made by John Anderson, by Fraser Mennell. Carried.

a. Special Vestry meeting, motion to accept minutes made by Jeannine St Louis, seconded by Chris McVeigh

5. Business Arising from the Minutes

No New Business

6. Reception of Narrative Reports Motion to receive the narrative reports, moved by Angie Tuovinen, seconded by Liz Burrows. Carried 7. Bishop’s Letter to Vestry – read by Father Rob 8. Rectors Report

a. Father Rob read from his report Motion to accept the Rector’s Report moved by Fraser Mennell, seconded by Arla Peters. Carried. 9. Treasurer’s Report – Mark Charlton

a. 2017 incomes and expenses reviewed Motion to accept Treasurers report for council – moved by Tara Fuerth, seconded by Chris McVeigh. Carried 10. 2018 Budget

a. See Below Motion to accept 2018 Budget for council – moved by Mark Charlton, seconded by John Anderson. Carried Questions: Parking Lot – concerned that it is falling apart. It is on our list of projects for the future and are using patches for now. And Montessori will be using the parking lot more and paying for it 11. Retirees John Anderson – retiring from Warden Motion of thanks for Johns service – moved by Arla Peters, seconded by Barb Tintinalli. Carried Angie Tuovinen – retiring from PAC leadership Motion of thanks – moved by Christian Paulton, seconded by Janet Harris. Carried Motion to close nominations for council – moved by Trish Taylor, seconded by Cathy Lessard. Carried

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12. New Business

- Christian presented John Anderson and Fraser Mennell with Warden t-shirts

- Art Shields motion to close

- Rev’d Rob declared meeting closed and prayer

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2019 Reports

Warden’s Report

It’s amazing to me that as I get older the year slips by more quickly, but once again we are into Vestry season.

The beginning of a new year gives us the opportunity to look back and consider what life had in store both in

our personal and Church lives as well as being re-energized for what lays ahead.

We welcomed new members to our congregation, including some little ones whose joy and enthusiasm brings

smiles to many. We celebrated a wedding of two of our choir members who, with their family, courageously

endured the stifling heat as they took their vows. Thanks to a generous donation just received and earmarked

for air conditioning that may be a thing in the past.

Sadly we said goodbye to some parishioners; John Quint, George Pahomey, Hettie Cornett, Dee Oakley &

Marian Robshaw. In their own special way each helped make St. Mark’s a vibrant loving community. They will

be missed but not forgotten.

The Wardens are thankful for the work carried out by the various teams who tirelessly carry out God’s work in

the community. Visiting the sick, ministering to the poor & needy, making meat pies to feed our bodies, the

golf tournament, bbq, pig roast, thanksgiving dinner and so much more could not happen without your

generous giving of time and enthusiasm. The music ministry under the guidance of Andrea Morosin really

fulfills the command to “Sing unto the Lord”. The Chancel Guild ensures everything is ready and correct for

both Sunday services as well as other occasions. Special thanks to our Treasurer, Mark Charlton, for diligently

ensuring our financial security. An exacting job he managers along with other Deanery and Diocesan

responsibilities. We cannot forget our Parish Administrator, Christie, who carries out her tasks efficiently and

quietly but always with a smile. THANK YOU ALL

Rob’s ‘Lemon Aids’ have seen their ranks expand this year under the tutoring and guidance of our Youth

Director, Jane Cornett and mentoring by Zach Shields and Nathan Dean. Thank you.

St. Mark’s by the Lake is truly blessed to have Father Rob lead us in Worship and following in Jesus’ ways. He

has endless energy and enthusiasm which cannot help but spill over into each of our lives. He tackles many

tasks unrelated to worship and is the master of pot hole filling. Thank you to Trish to whom all the youngsters

in the congregation gather round for her kind words and snacks.

We eagerly look forward to see what God’s plan is for us in the year ahead.

Thank you all for being part of SMBTL. Carolynne Mastellotto, People’s Warden

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Outreach For Justice Team Report

Our Team has accomplished the following, with the kindness of our parishioners:

CAKE MIXES - This was the second year that we have collected all the items necessary to make a birthday cake including disposable baking pans in order that the poverty stricken children could have a birthday cake on their special day. It was a complete success.

LENTEN BOOKLET – Thank you to Nancy Nosanchuk for the complying and publishing our yearly Lenten Booklet. Also during Lent we collected and presented a cheque in the sum of $375.55 for St. John’s Food Bank.

BACKPACK SUNDAY – We collected 90 backpacks and school supplies. This year, we disbursed to the following schools: Marlborough School, Begley School, Drouillard Place, Windsor Residence for Men, Windsor Youth Centre, Leone Residence for Women and Windsor Residence of Young Men together with a great number of school supplies of paper, note books, pencils, pens, rulers, erasers etc. Canterbury College also received school supplies. Thank you to all the parishioners for their help.

BUS PASSES – We collected $123.50 for bus passes during the Christmas Market. We shall distribute the money in 2019.

ST. JOHN’S FOOD BANK – Thank you to all who are donating the food to St. John’s Food Bank. Please keep on thinking about them when you go grocery shopping each week.

ADOPT A SENIOR – We had another successful year, gifts were donated to the residents of Brouillette Nursing Home and Tecumseh Extendicare

TOY DRIVE – The toys were delivered to New Song Church. The people at New Song Church were most appreciative.

Our Team would like to thank you for supporting us in all of our projects which allows us to help others.

If anyone would like to join our Team please come to our meeting which is the second Monday of each month at 6:30 pm.

Congratulation to Al DeShield for taking the position as Chair of the OJT.

Sincerely,

Jeannine Renaud-St. Louis

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Knit Wits Report

The Knit-Witts: 2019 will mark 11 years of serving those in need with this amazing Outreach program.

It is with heartfelt gratitude, we wish to thank those who have helped us accomplish all that the Knit-Witts

have done in 2019 by keeping us supplied with the worsted weight yarn, looms, funds & other supplies

needed to support the organizations we donate to. 2018 Distributions were as follows: Aspen Lake, Bagley

School, Banwell Nursing Home, Chateau Park Nursing Home, DMC, Downtown Mission, Dr. G Bacheyie

Outreach, (St. Joseph’s Orphanage, Jirapa Ghana), Manitoba-Outreach for First Nations, New Beginnings,

Regency Park Nursing Home, Riverside Nursing Home, Ronald McDonald House - Windsor Campus, Salvation

Army, Schlegel Nursing Home, Secret Santa Lapgans, South Windsor Senior Center, Street Help, Windsor Youth

Centre. We ended the year with a total of 1,925 pieces which include hats, scarves, mitts for adult & children,

lapgans, walker pouches, Pray Shawl Crosses along with baby items such as the Feel Better Friends dolls and

toys as well as Octopus dolls. Thank you so very much for helping us help others. Your Knit-Witts

Parish Activities Council (PAC) Reports

St. Mark’s Meat Pie Making 2018 Again it was a very busy year with meat pie making. The Treasurer will share the numbers in his report. We had a great group of meat pie rollers and makers of meat and pastry. This year we trained new “pastry chef-Al”. He has amazing teachers with Sally and Mark. We had a number of new folks come out and join us which is always a great message that we do have fun while we do serious work. This year we did 5 meat pie dates and add in turkey pie making for the Christmas Market. Many thanks to the regular parishioners who cook the meat, buy supplies, pick up the meat and deliver it to the church-Richard and Nancy, make the amazing lunches-Rose and all the hands that it takes to roll pastry. Please come join us for the meat pie making and you will see the love of family. We do laugh at ourselves a lot. Youth are also welcome as we have had young people come out and share in the event. Hope to see everyone in 2019-whether you are buying pies, making pies, buying supplies, cooking meat or just praying that God is in our midst. Thank you all for another amazing year. Next meeting pie making is February 9th 8 am-1 pm. Angie Tuovinen

Turkey Supper 2018

This years’ turkey supper was a huge success. When you combine the experience of our seasoned volunteers

with the energy of new ones along with the guidance of past turkey supper leaders, you end up with a very

well attended, well run event. The success of this event is owed to everyone involved including the set up

crew, kitchen crew, bus people, servers, bar tender, greeters, clean up crew, turkey cookers, donation

suppliers, our tireless Rector and of course all who attended the event partaking in a fabulous dinner and time

of fellowship. There were customers eager to indulge in the fruits of our labour from the time the doors

opened until the time that we put up a sold out sign. Which as it turns out we weren't sold out because Jack

prayed over the last tray of turkey and by some miracle, we found 2 more! Any left overs went into Angie's

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fabulous turkey pies. Every comment received that evening was one of praise. The Windsor Residence for

Young Men came in after dinner to take care of tear down which was greatly appreciated by all as none of us

had any energy left to do it. An enjoyable time had by all.

Dawn Dean

Golf Report 2018 It is hard to believe that there have actually been some days in the month of January that have been warm enough for golf. However I know there are many avid golfers out there who cannot wait for the season to begin. So plan ahead to join us at our Tournament this year on Sunday June 2nd at Rochester Place. Be sure to invite your golfing friends and neighbours as well. The Golf Committee is always looking for new members - many hands make light work and make it easier to obtain Sponsors and Prizes that make this event a success. Please let me know if you would like to join the Committee. Respectfully submitted Christine McVeigh Golf Committee Chair Steak BBQ Our Steak BBQ took place on Friday, November 23, 2018. It was a wonderful time attended by 99 of our Parish Family and friends. After experiencing co-ordinating this event for the first time, I now know that 100 would be a sell out! It is truly a Parish event with so much Parish involvement. Thanks to all who donated of their time and talent to make this event happen and to those who donated to the Auction items and those who bid on those Auction Items! This event grossed over $6,300 and netted over $4,500 after paid expenses. This is amazing but could not happen without all of the "unpaid" value of time and contribution. Thank you so much! On a personal note, I want to say that offering to co-ordinate this event was scary, but it was made so much easier by so many wonderful people helping. It is heartwarming. I look forward to next year's BBQ already! Save the date for November 1st. Buy your tickets early because it is so much fun and we are going to SELL OUT ! Arla Peters Kentucky Derby The first Saturday of May is steeped in traditions. Like so many in Kentucky, we gathered to watch the “most

exciting two minutes in sport”. Rain fell steadily on Churchill Downs, but we were comfortable in the festive

surroundings of Wellwood hall enjoying Mint Juleps and tasty appetizers. Fascinators and Derby hats helped

set the mood as we played some games and placed bets on the 3 year olds. The favourite “Justify” did not

disappoint. Attendees were treated to some fine Southern fare including Izzy’s Kentucky Burgoo, Nancy’s Corn

Pudding, and Sally’s Mac & Cheese. Many thanks to all the volunteers who helped with cooking, decorating,

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table setup, and cleanup. In typical St. Mark’s fashion,

we had lots of help, lots of laughs, lots of food, and lots

of fun. Mark your calendar for May 4th to watch the

145th “Run for the Roses” in derby style!

Pastoral Care Report

Again, I would like to report our team continues to reach out to our parishioners with home visits, nursing home visits, funeral home visitation, and sometimes hospital visits. We call, we bring food, flowers, and our company, enjoying conversations and storytelling from many who have been long standing members of St. Marks, but can no longer come to church. They appreciate the contact, enjoying the news of our church, while telling us stories of the history of St. Marks.

I thank our team of Nicky Adams, Alyce Sandie, Al Deshield, Anne Mills, Bev Watson, Janet Harris, Marion Horneck, Margaret Clarke, Mary Lee Hussey, and Elaine Janosik for bringing sunshine into their lives. We all enjoy our time.

Please reach out to any members if you would like a visit or know someone that might like a visit.

Barbara Lyons

Choir and Church Music Report

This past year has been a wonderful one for music at St. Mark’s by-the-Lake! The choir continues to perform meaningful worship music to share with our community and skillfully lead the musical portion of our services. We’ve welcomed new members, tackled challenging music, and performed with musical ability that continues to improve. We sing with four sections of Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bass – a choirmaster’s dream!

There have been many meaningful and beautiful musical moments this year. One of the highlights was the “Service of Lessons and Carols” during Advent. The choir was also present for many special services throughout the year. They are generous with their time and desire to develop their skill.

New members are always welcome and encouraged to join us! We have experienced some decline in participation in recent months as a result of winter travel plans, health challenges and changes in workplace and school schedules. We would love to have new members join us. The only requirement is a desire to sing. No audition necessary. Our choir is composed of a mixture of trained voices with musical background and those who like to sing in a friendly group setting with some or no training. You do not need to know how to read music – the director will help with that! Choir practice is Tuesday nights at 6:30 pm and Sunday mornings at 9:30 am.

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We are very thankful for the music ministry of Amanda Dibbs and Joan Hartley, who generously give of their time and talent. I so appreciate their kindness and willingness to play for our congregation in my absence, at early services and other musical occasions. Thank you also to Bev Watson and Christian Paulton for always going above and beyond (in general) and especially as it relates to their roles in the choir. Thank you for Christie Paulton for helping keep everything organized. Thank you also to Eric Mainwairing for his beautiful music! It is a joy to play with him and learn from him. Thank you to the wardens for their continued support of this ministry.

I am so thankful to Jane and Alanah and the Sunday school volunteers who help with my little ladies while I play and work with the choir. And thank you to the congregation for embracing their boisterous energy and the occasional ‘extra’ musical sounds from little fingers! Thank you to Rob for leading us with such grace and kindness and for his support of the music ministry. It is wonderful to work alongside such a caring minister who understands of the challenges of being a working mom with three little ones. Thank you to Trish for her patience and time with my children in the back row! It makes it so much easier to fulfill my role and it is so appreciated.

Phil, Sophie, Caroline, Alice and I are thankful for all the love and support we receive from our family at St. Mark’s. It is a pleasure to work with such an excellent staff and caring faith community.

We hope to continue to offer relevant worship music and infuse Sunday’s with new hymns and anthems. This truly is a wonderful choir and we are so fortunate to have members that share their talents.

Andrea Morosin – Director of Church Music

Children’s and Youth Ministry Vestry Report

St. Mark’s by the Lake is blessed to have so many wonderful families to minister to! Sundays in 2018 have

been full of life, energy and opportunities to learn together. Each week saw an average of 12-18 children,

ages 1-12yrs participate in Sunday school and nursery. We are also so pleased to have our older children

participate fully in the services as servers, readers, chancel assistants, greeters and sharing their musical gifts

with the parish.

Many children, youth and families also participated in

community and deanery events during the year. For the

Terry Fox Run, the Tweens group made many

encouraging signs for the runners and placed them along

the route to brighten up their day. We also had a team

participate in the run before church that Sunday!

Our own Ainslee McKrow was Nibby this year!

St. Mark’s by the Lake hosted a Huron Church Camp information night in June for the Deanery. The evening

included a ‘camp’ meal, followed by typical camp games, crafts, stories, music and a campfire!! We are

blessed that our own Zach Shields worked as a camp counselor this past summer. Huron Church Camp offers

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a weekly summer program , run by our Diocese, and is located on the beautiful shores of Lake Huron, near

Bayfield. Some of our children enjoyed a week away and we hope many more will attend camp this summer!

Elijah can’t wait to go back again!! Let’s see how many kids we can send this summer!

This year, our Tweens group (for those gr. 3-6) met monthly at the church on Sundays from noon-2pm,

enjoying lunch and fellowship together. We also worked on some outreach projects and had some great

discussions about pertinent topics. They even

tried to teach Fr. Rob how to ‘floss’!! (see

picture!)

We will be continuing these monthly meetings on

Sundays and will be planning to add another

meeting day each month- this will include

occasional outings together.

We were blessed to have 3 new servers join our

team this Fall, increasing our numbers to 11

servers! I am so proud of all the work you do and

your dedication to the Parish! Many thanks to all

of you for helping our newest servers learn their

role and for taking on additional responsibilities.

I am so thankful for all those who take an active role is helping to care for our wee ones on a Sunday morning-

Sally Charlton, Nichole Mennell, Janet Halbish and Trish Taylor. Many thanks to Alanah Shields and Christie

Paulton who assist with teaching on a Sunday morning. All of you are such a blessing to the children and

bring them joy! Thank you to the Parish for your continued love, encouragement and support that you show

our youth and children!

Faithfully submitted by Jane Cornett

2018 Synod Report “Being Disciples, Abiding in God’s Word”

was the theme of the 177th Synod of the Diocese of Huron.

The Evening service was magnificent as always and we were honoured to have our Most Reverend Primate

Fred Hiltz as the Celebrant and of course Bishop Linda as the preacher. The highlight of the service was our

own Father Rob being called and installed to the Cathedral Chapter of Canons. The next morning the Bishop

shared her Charge to synod which included an emphasis on evangelism and discipleship. We held discussions

on the Marriage Canon change which will be voted on this Summer at General Synod. The Primate and Bishop

shared their views most importantly how we can respectfully discuss our views. At the Banquet, the Primate

reflected on his experiences and reminded us he will step down this year, which means an election will be

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required at General Synod. A new feature this year were Faith Witness talks from several members ranging

from everyday events to mission trips to Africa. As always, committees, colleges, and church camp gave

updates on areas of their missions. A key motion passed was regarding respect for Mother Earth and

sustainability of safe drinking water. Bishop Dance shared his gift for leading Bible study and our Companion

Diocese announced that guests from Amazonia would visit in the fall! It continues to be a honour to represent

this parish at Synod. For more information, check out the resouces section at diohuron.org for financial

reports, the Bishop’s Charge, the Primates address, and the Popular report of Synod.

Beyond our annual trip to London in May, Chris is a member of Deanery Executive and I attend Huron

University College, Diocesan Council and Administration & Finance committee meetings.

Dutifully Yours,

Mark Charlton

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Rector’s Report Throughout my 14 years of ministry I have consistently shared parish life with wonderful people who

love their God and their neighbours. Each congregation has expressed that in different ways. From the very

beginning of our time here, I recognised and appreciated the wonderful gifts of hospitality and love given to this

congregation by God. You used those gifts to welcome Trish, Rebekah, Jacob, and me almost 5 years ago and

you have continued to use them as we have walked together in faith. Shortly after arriving I recognised another

couple of gifts, the gifts of joy and food. From the first summer talent show, on, there have been countless

times that we’ve gathered together, eating, laughing, and enjoying one another’s company. Sharing these gifts

with us has made our time at St. Mark’s rich, fun, joyful, and wonderful. I am deeply thankful that God has given

us the opportunity to share life with you at St. Mark’s by the Lake, and in that has given us a foretaste of his

kingdom. I hope that has been your experience too so that our “thanksgiving [may] overflow to the glory of

God.”1

Having expressed thanks to the Almighty, I now want to express my thanks to many people here at St.

Mark's by the Lake. First let me express my deepest gratitude to Amanda Dibbs, Carolynne Mastellotto, Fraser

Mennell, and Christian Paulton. Not only have they all agreed to continue serving as wardens (which I'm sure

will add jewels to their crowns in heaven), but they have also worked very hard for this congregation throughout

the year and they have been a tremendous support for me in my ministry. The leadership and faith of these four

individuals are of the highest order and their commitment to this church and to Christ is truly inspiring.

With the Wardens, it is important to offer thanks to the Rev'd Jack Dressler who, continues, with Eileen,

to be part of our life here at St. Mark’s. Jack and Eileen’s faith, commitment to the church, and fellowship are

appreciated and contribute to our common life. Jack continues to visit and care for members of this parish,

cover services when I'm away, as well as sing in the choir, and Eileen is part of the Knit Witts and quietly cares

for and keeps up with all sorts of people. Eileen also keeps me supplied with her peanut butter pie, which is

another taste of the kingdom all in itself. I’m happy to say that this past year, Jack was appointed by the bishop

to be an honourary associate at St. Mark's, which means he’s officially “ours” and we’re certainly glad to have

him as a permanent part of our parish family.

This year we still missed, but certainly did not forget Canon Geoff Dibbs. Amanda Dibbs and I are often

asked about how he is doing by parishioners and it is a testament to the loving nature of our congregation that

members care enough to ask and express concern for him even after so long an absence. In spite of the distance

between us now, I am thankful for Geoff's many years of ministry here and will certainly convey to him again,

our deep affection for him.

I must also express my sincere appreciation to Christie Paulton for her work as the Parish Administrator.

Since her first day on the job, I have appreciated Christie's reliability, approachability, and energy for her work.

She handles ministry scheduling, making appointments for repairs, passing information around, extra tasks,

questions, and reminders. Christie is organised, intelligent, wise, and kind. She is far more precious to our

congregation than jewels.2 Christie's commitment and hard work have been a blessing in allowing me the

opportunity to engage in other ministry activities without having to worry about the thousand different things

that she very capably deals with every day. Her willingness to help our church family and work hard even in the

face of many demands have almost inevitably added many jewels to her crown in heaven.

Thanks must also be expressed to Mark Charlton for his deep commitment to a faithful Christian ministry,

his ability to have fun in that, his genuine care for others, his willingness to text back and forth with me about

1 2 Corinthians 4:15 2 Proverbs 31:10

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curling on TV, and of course for his accounting acumen as our parish treasurer. Further thanks must be

expressed to Mark, Chris McVeigh, Brooke White, and Carolynne Mastellotto for representing this congregation

as Lay and Alternate Delegates to Synod; Andrea Morosin for her leadership in the music of the church and in

the choir; Jane Cornett for her fine work organizing the Sunday School, promoting family ministry, leading the

tweens group, and actively engaging in the larger life of the parish; Jeanine St. Louis for her leadership of the

Outreach for Justice Team; Barbara Lyons and Bev Watson for their coordination of the Pastoral Care Committee;

Diane Kettlewell and Ruth Meyer for their coordination of the Knit Witts; all the different folks that took on

leadership of church dinners and activities, and to Amanda Dibbs for providing leadership to the Chancel Guild.

Further gratitude must be expressed to Steve White, Harold Horneck, and Al Oakley, and all the others

who spend a lot of time here puttering, fixing, cutting, sorting, and generally making this an appropriate place

for the worship of almighty God.

There are many other people who deserve our thanks and I apologise that I am unable to recognise you

by name. To the choir, servers, readers, intercessors, lay administrators, Sunday school helpers, coffee hour

volunteers, parish council members, Knit Witts, greeters, counters, committee members, and many others, I

want to assure you that your gifts of ministry and service have not gone unnoticed and that your gift of time and

energy to our common life has enriched that life immeasurably. I am deeply thankful for the life of our parish

family and all those that contribute to its health and vitality through their talents, gifts, and other support.

This past year was an unusual one in terms of participation in our Sunday services. Our attendance is off

by almost 20 people year over year. Some of that came through the death of members of our parish family and

some came through people migrating to other parishes or leaving parish life entirely, but, this year, that only

accounts for 8 people. The rest of that has come through people leading busy lives and traveling and spending

time with family. The Sunday of the Thanksgiving weekend was a case in point when we only had 48 people at

the 10:30 am service. As a congregation with a healthy dose of early retirees who have the energy and time to

travel this is a reality of our existence that I don’t think we need to be overly concerned about in terms of our

collective health and vitality.

We had a very healthy year in terms of meeting our ministry aims and financial obligations. We have

welcomed new parishioners, our children’s ministry programme continues to thrive with Jane Cornett’s

leadership and the support of her crew, we have participated in a lot of outreach activities supporting other

organisations in their efforts to care for those in need in Windsor and the surrounding area, and we have

gathered together to eat, worship, learn, and grow in our relationship with each other and Christ. We had

strong end to 2018 on the financial front, ending the year with a surplus and we have been able to pay down an

additional $10,000 of our outstanding debt from the expansion project of 10 years ago. Life at St. Mark’s, as

usual was full and joyful in 2018 and for that we can be profoundly thankful.

The Mission and Ministry plan that we developed last year has helped to guide our life together over the

past year and will continue to guide our way moving forward. Among the items that we committed to in that

plan was to participate in our Joyful Giving programme, annually. This fall we used that programme for the

second year. As last year, it was successful and I’m very thankful for the way that the congregation has

responded to this new element of our life together. I know that some find it uncomfortable, but it is not meant

to be that way, it is meant to enable us to plan well for ministry and to celebrate the rich gifts that God has given

to us as a congregation in time, talent, and treasure. All of those elements are equally important and give life

and vitality to our congregational life. By talking about stewardship over the last two years, we have seen new

people become involved in ministry, some of our long term parishioners get involved in different ministries, and

we have experienced some growth financially as well. Taking five weeks of the year to focus on stewardship

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has helped us grow instead of decline, and because of that we will continue with Joyful Giving again next fall

and consistently in the years ahead so that it will just become part of the normal pattern of our life together.

God has given us growth, not so that we can feel self-satisfied and comfortable, but so that we can use

it for the benefit of the people around us and to build God’s kingdom of peace and joy. A couple of years ago it

was suggested by the bishop and others that among the 5 Marks of Mission3 Canadian Anglicans are really good

at marks 3-5 (seeking justice, looking after those in need, and protecting the environment), but marks 1 and 2

(evangelism, and discipleship) are where we tend to come up short. Over the last almost 5 years we have put a

good deal of time and energy into discipleship, which is another area of commitment for us in the Mission and

Ministry plan. Currently, we have two bible studies running, we have our Lenten series and we also do Fall Food

and Faith. These are important times to learn and grow in Christ so that we can continue his ministry in the

world and we’ll look forward to continuing those activities this year. Our Lenten Series will take place for 5

weeks beginning on Wednesday March 13. As usual, we’ll gather for supper and then enjoy some time together

growing in our faith. We’re going to use a programme called It’s Time To…Stop, Pray, Work, Play & Love from

the Society of St. John the Evangelist. Through the series, we’ll talk about how to order our lives so that we can

feel and share God’s richest blessings instead of constantly feeling drained and out of sorts.

Our discipleship and stewardship efforts have helped us gain a greater appreciation for God’s blessings

and, hopefully, a desire to share those blessings with others. One of the ways to share that is through

evangelism, which is not church recruitment or obnoxious confrontation of others with scripture. Evangelism is

sharing, in word and deed, the good news of God in Christ, the good news that we know and experience all the

time in the day to day reality of our lives through God’s living with us. Evangelism is something else that we

committed to in our Mission and Ministry plan and it is the area where we have the greatest opportunity for

growth in terms of our faithfulness to God’s call in Jesus Christ. As we reflected on the nature of our ministry in

developing the evangelism portion of our Mission and Ministry plan, two important realities struck us. The first

was that the bulk of our outreach ministry was concentrated in caring for people in need in Windsor, because

we are located in a fairly affluent area and the needs in Windsor are clear and opportunities to help are

substantial. The second was that the need that actually exists in our neighbourhood is not the typical need that

we think of when we think of outreach, which is poverty. The need in our neighbourhood is for community. As

an area that largely developed in the 1950’s, there are a number of people who bought homes and built this

area up and are still here, but through the transitions of life have found themselves more and more alone and

isolated. On top of that Essex county has become a real draw for seniors due to the climate, affordability, and

livability of the area. Many seniors live alone and newcomers to the area have fewer community connections.

It’s with this population in mind that we can see an opportunity for new ministry to develop, which will allow us

to share the good news of God’s love with people in the community outside the walls of our church.

In our Mission and Ministry plan we suggested that we would do something called Dinner Church and

the plan called for us to do it a couple of times and then assess whether we could reasonably and responsibly

continue. Dinner Church is not meant to be a recruiting drive for our Sunday morning congregation, but a

completely different approach to church for people for whom the Sunday experience is not accessible at this

point. The idea is that we will invite people, through the newspaper and through direct flyers to join us at the

St. Clair Beach Community Centre on St. Gregory once a month. We’ll gather, we’ll eat a meal together with

live music, we’ll share fellowship with people as we eat, we’ll clean up, serve dessert and coffee, share a story

of Jesus, pray and bless folks on their way. Basically, we’ll be doing something that Jesus did and the church has

3 If you’re not familiar with these please check them out on the canvas in the hallway leading to the main office at the church or go to

this website: https://www.anglican.ca/marks/about/

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done over the centuries, we’ll gather at the table to share the good news of God’s love over food and drink and

in doing that we’ll cut through isolation and loneliness with the love and community of the church. Dinner

Church seems to be a wonderful fit for our congregation, because two of our real strengths are hospitality and

food and what we see there is a wonderful situation where our strengths can meet a real need we recognise in

our neighbourhood.

Last fall, the opportunity presented itself to access some diocesan financial resources through the Jubilee

Grant programme to considerably expand the scope of our Dinner Church endeavours so that instead of only

two Dinner Church experiences we would like to do it for a whole year and after we get all the kinks worked out

in Tecumseh expand it to Belle River. The reason for looking to Belle River is that there is no Anglican church

north of the 401 between here and Chatham, which makes Belle River an area for us to provide ministry and

care to. In a meeting with Deputy Mayor Tracey Bailey in Belle River last fall, we heard that isolation among

seniors is an issue of concern in that community too and that they have a communal dining programme for

seniors already running that we could potentially augment with Dinner Church. With the additional resources

of a Jubilee Grant there is the opportunity for Dinner Church to really develop and for us to assess its viability

and whether it is something that we would like to continue and it would also give us the opportunity to share

the good news more fully than would otherwise be possible. We applied last fall and then Mark Charlton, Angie

Tuovinen, and Carolynne Mastellotto made an in-person pitch to the committee for the grant at the beginning

of January. The pitch went well and we will find out sometime in early February whether we have received all

or part of what we requested.

We do not know whether we will receive this grant, but I am confident in the faithfulness of this ministry

and ask you to pray that God will provide the resources to undertake it either through the grant or in some

other way. I also ask you to pray about how you might be part of it. We will need considerable help in preparing

the meals, in sharing the tables, and in ministering to the folks that gather with us. We have no idea how it will

work out or what will come from this ministry, but we do know that God is good and that what we have to offer

in community and faith is something that will give life to the people that we share this ministry with. I hope

that you will join with me in praying for this exciting new ministry and will help us to make it a reality.

We have come to a time in the life of our congregation where we are strong and vibrant as we’ve been

for many years, but where we have the opportunity to grow from strength to strength. We have the opportunity

to grow from a congregation that functions so well and has a rich community life to a congregation that takes

our strength and community life out into the world to help others know God’s presence and love through us. I

can’t wait to see how God will bless us in 2019 and make us a blessing to others. I am looking forward to the

year ahead partly for the excitement, but mostly because I get to share it with you and the God who loves us

abundantly more than we can ask or imagine.

Respectfully Submitted,

The Rev’d Canon Robert Lemon

Rector, St. Mark’s by the Lake

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Appendix to Rector’s Report

Statistics for 2018

Baptisms: 1

Weddings: 2

Funerals: 7

Average Sunday Attendance: 106

Average Weekly Attendance: 114

Admitted to Christ’s Holy Catholic Church:

Nolan James McConnell

Joined in Holy Matrimony:

Catherine Marie Perreault & Alistair James Cameron Mennell

Sara Ann Cameron & Mitchell Arthur Shields

Given Christian Burial by Clergy of This Parish:

Elizabeth Marie Leishman John Anthony Quint Hettie May Cornett

George Trifon Pahomey Diane (Dee) Hazel Oakley Marian Robshaw

June Anne Pollard Robert Henry Farrow

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Parish Mission and Ministry Plan Progress and Plans

Living with the Mission and Ministry Plan as a guide over the last year has kept us on track with our typical

practices and yielded some additional fruit.

Evangelism

• We participated in the Deanery Evangelism workshop: Knowing our Story, Sharing our Story

• We have not established an evangelism committee as anticipated.

• We held our annual All Souls service, inviting people from outside the parish to attend and had a wonderful turnout, in part because of scheduling it on a Sunday evening instead of on November 2. We intend to schedule for Sunday November 3 this year.

• Our major focus for this year will be to move forward with Dinner Church. Discipleship

• The morning and evening bible study, the Lenten Series, and Fall Food and Faith, were all part of our life together, helping to form us as disciples.

• We have not discerned God calling new leaders to ministry in this area, but will remain vigilant.

• We hope to participate in a deanery workshop relating to discipleship this year. Service

• We renewed our collection efforts for the food bank by providing a suggested target food for each week in the bulletin and contributions have increased sharply.

• We continue to support a variety of organisations in Windsor in their efforts to look after others. Transforming Society

• Attempts were made to be in touch with interfaith communities, but have yielded no fruit. Attempts will continue.

• The Rev’d Rosalyn Elm came to speak to us about Indigenous and biblical understandings of creation.

• We will look forward to inviting the Bridge Builders to our deanery for further education. Safeguarding and Renewing the Earth

• Recycling and diligence around electricity use remain challenges.

• Light bulbs in the church have all been switched to LED in order to lower usage.

• A green building assessment is a project we look forward to in the future. Ministry and Leadership

• Our normal practices continue around communication and administration.

• We did not get to schedule a ministry fair, but will look forward to it in 2019.

• Partnerships with other parishes continued through the deanery, but Operation Point North was not a deanery project this year.

Congregational Health

• Safe Church practices are up to date and implemented.

• Decisions are taken in consultation and important communication takes place at least verbally if not in person.

• Research in to Adaptive Leadership and systems approach to conflict management remain in process.

• The parish retreat will be pushed back a year to allow time and energy to be used establishing Dinner Church.

Buildings

• An annual review took place and the property matrix was updated

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• We will seek an estimate on the parking lot repaving in 2019

• Two trees were taken down to open the view of the front of the church. These will need to be replaced in the spring of 2019.

Finance

• Joyful Giving process was undertaken in fall 2018 and we’ll look forward to doing it again in 2019.

• We have paid down more debt and are maintaining a balanced budget.

• We hope to receive a Jubilee Grant to enable us to expand our outreach ministry with Dinner Church Long-term Future

• We ran the Reimagining Church programme as our Fall Food and Faith series this fall.

Many of the practices and procedures encouraged by the Mission and Ministry plan development process

were and remain part of our regular life at St. Mark’s. This next year we look forward to focusing a large part

of our energy and resources on a new evangelism ministry through Dinner Church.

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Financial Report

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2019 Narrative Budget

I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day

of Jesus Christ.

Philippians 1:6

Our Mission

At St. Mark's by the Lake we do not have a mission statement because we take our lead from Jesus, who gave us the

mission to love God, love our neighbours, and to go and make disciples of all nations. The two Great

Commandments and the Great Commission are more than adequate to directing our efforts and shaping our

mission as a parish. These teachings of Jesus find expression throughout our common life in the way that we use

and share the rich blessings that God has given us in gifts and talents, in time, and resources. Our love for God is

expressed profoundly in worship and fellowship. Our love for our neighbours is expressed powerfully in our

pastoral care and outreach. Our efforts to make disciples are expressed in education and evangelism. God is good

and has given us so much love that we cannot help but return it to God and share it with the world.

This Document

This Narrative Budget is an attempt to share how we are looking to go about our mission in the year ahead.

Normal budgets do the same thing but fail to capture the human effort that is tied up in our mission and they fail to

share how the money and effort, actually, affect people's lives. The work we undertake and the resources that we

use have a profound effect on the people of our parish, and on the world around us. We hope this document will help

us all to appreciate the good work that God has begun in us and help us know how we can continue in that work moving

forward.

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Worship

“Worship the Lord your God and serve only him.” Luke 4:8

Ancient and modern traditions find expression in our gathering as God's people on Sunday and Wednesday

mornings and at other gatherings of God's people for worship. God's life-giving word is proclaimed in word, in

song, and in sacrament and through that hope and faith are inspired and enlivened. Our music programme is

strong, our liturgies are life giving, and there is a palpable sense of the presence of God in all of our worship

experiences.

A group of parishioners said...

“We love the community that we experience in worship, we are friends who love each other. That allows us to sing

together, to pray together, to experience God together.”

This area includes:

Liturgies that enable the relationship between God and God's people Thoughtful insight into God's word through homilies and other presentations Our parish administrator's efforts to organise the many volunteers that make worship possible Maintenance of the building and property The choir and music director

Hours in Ministry: 2,214 Cost of Ministry: $87,773

Fellowship

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works...” Hebrews 10:24

Recognising the presence of Christ in the lives of others we gather for times of fellowship and fun to be filled with

love so that we can share God's love and goodness with the world. Whether it's coffee hour, a potluck or other

meal, or informal gatherings in and around the church, we encounter Christ and are filled with rich blessings by

spending time together.

One of our Knit Witts said...

“We get together to knit, crochet, loom, and do other stuff like that. We also get together to laugh, to chat, and to

support and love each other. We spend as much time eating and talking as we do making hats, sweaters, and

mittens. Our knitting time helps keep people warm on the outside and us warm on the inside.”

This area includes:

15) Greeters at each service 16) Special social times 17) Publication of our newsletter 18) A supervised nursery for our youngest members 19) Parish BBQ 20) The administration of our prayer list 21) Coffee Hour

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22) The Parents Without Social Lives events 23) Safe Church policy implementation 24) Knit Witts

Hours in Ministry: 3,944 Cost of Ministry: $40,077

Pastoral Care

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one

another.” John 13:34

Jesus reached out to the sick and the lonely with love, compassion, and the grace of God. We follow his example in

offering care and love to members of our parish who find themselves in times of difficulty and pain, or find

themselves cut off from the community of faith because a move or decreased independence. We take communion

and we take the community of St. Mark's by the Lake out of the building to hospitals, nursing homes, and private

homes, wherever sick or lonely members of our congregation find themselves.

A member that experienced illness recently said...

“The prayers, the visits, the cards, the food. We were well taken care of and everyone was waiting to help. A

church member took my son grocery shopping and that helped him feel like he was contributing. Personally, I

could really feel the prayers. It was a great support that helped get us through a difficult time.”

This area includes:

• Regular visits to members

• Support in times of crisis, bereavement, and need

• Clergy and lay visitation for those shut-in or in hospital

• Counsel and direction on family, marital, and vocational issues

• A listening ear on the telephone

• A parish administrator who can connect those in need to those who can help

• Training parishioners to minister to each other

• Coordination of prayers of the people requests

Hours in Ministry: 780 Cost of Ministry: $36,792

Outreach

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have

eternal life.” John 3:16

Following the example of Christ, we are a Church committed to serve and care for those who may not have any

connection to our church at all. The people of St. Mark's live out our baptismal covenant to “seek and serve Christ

in all persons” in a variety of ways. We engage in outreach projects that are local, diocesan and global in focus;

providing food, clothing, toys, money and many volunteers.

A letter from Marina Clemens, Executive Director of Drouillard Place reads...

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“The backpacks [you provide] are wonderful as we didn't have enough for all our children when summer day camp

finished on August 25th so these will certainly fill that gap. We are so grateful to churches like yours who support

our families and children.”

This area includes:

• Counselling for hurting people

• Backpack Collection

• Collection for Canterbury College

• Refugee Sponsorship

• Outreach for Justice Team information nights

• Food bank collection

• Christmas collections for children and seniors

• Other collections taken up from time to time

• Support for WRYM, WYC, and other local outreach organizations

• St. Mark's Award for Excellence in Christian Leadership (Huron College prize)

Hours in Ministry: 216 Cost of Ministry: $21,244

Education

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the

prayers.” Acts 2:42

At St. Mark’s we believe growth in our knowledge of God and our faith is an essential aspect of life. Opportunities

for education, fellowship, sharing and service provide the environment for the development of each person’s

individual faith. Thus, we become better equipped to share our journey with others.

A parishioner at bible study said...

“I have an almost insatiable desire to know more about the love and ways of the God I follow. Bible study and the other

studies help to fill this need for me. When we miss bible study on Thursday, because of a cancellation or other reasons we feel

a void. It is not only study but fun. We students have become a 'family'.”

This area includes:

• A well-equipped and staffed Sunday School programmed

• Teens and tweens ministry

• Preparation for Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation, and marriage

• Weekly bible study

• Fall Food and Faith

• Lenten Series

• OJT education events

• Communication through our newsletter

• Participation in deanery and diocesan education events

Hours in Ministry: 298 Cost of Ministry: $42,499

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Evangelism

“Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore, pray earnestly to the

Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Matthew 9:37-38

At St. Mark's we are passionate about the faith we share. We want our church and its members to be a visible and

relevant example of God’s reconciling love and justice in the world. What goes on outside the walls of this church is

just as important as what goes on within them. We also want to provide opportunities for those who are here to

grow in an understanding of what is means to be a Christian witness on the Journey.

A newer couple to our parish said...

“Two years ago we came to St. Mark's and felt at home immediately, everyone was very welcoming. People we

didn't know made a point of introducing themselves, and the people we did know made a point of being very kind

and friendly. Another important early experience was that we loved seeing children at the church and that they had

a place in worship with all of us together.”

This area includes:

• Welcoming new members and families and encouraging their participation in parish life

• Developing parish brochures and welcome packages

• Education and encouragement for individuals to share their faith

• Our annual All Souls service where people outside are invited to remember loved ones

• Outreach to children and youths through our Children and Youth Ministry programme

• Offering Dinner Church to residents of Tecumseh and Lakeshore

Hours in Ministry: 596 Cost of Ministry: $22,565

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Nominating Report Vestry 2019

Rector’s Warden Amanda Dibbs

People’s Warden Carolynne Mastellotto

Deputy Rector’s Warden Christian Paulton

Deputy People’s Warden Fraser Mennell

Parish Administrator Christie Paulton (Appointed by Wardens)

Treasurer Mark Charlton (Appointed by Wardens)

Lay Delegate to Synod Mark Charlton

Lay Delegate to Synod Chris McVeigh

Alternate Lay Delegate to Synod Carolynne Mastellotto

Alternate Lay Delegate to Synod Brooke White

Youth Delegate Zach Shields

Parish Council Members (Minimum of 4, maximum of 12, ½ elected, ½ appointed)

Steve White Joe Pastovich Bob Cooper Jean Anderson

Darren Taylor Al DeShield John Anderson Emily Fletcher

Financial Reviewer

Arla Peters

Pastoral Care

Barb Lyons and Bev Watson (Coordinators)

Property /Finance

Carolynne Mastellotto (Interim Coordinator)

Outreach

Al DeShield (Coordinator)

Chancel Guild

Coni Moore (Coordinator)

Sunday School

Jane Cornett (Children and Youth Ministry Coordinator)